Tabulator stop of calculating machines and typewriting machines



May 6 192.4. 1,493,310

J. VVIMMER TABULATOR STOP OF CALCULATING MACHINES AND ,TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed April 14 1922 Patented May 6, 1924.

UNITED STATES JosEr wnviMnR, or soHoNaU', NEAR CHEMNITZ, GERMANY.

TABULATOR STOP OF CALCULATING MACHINES AND TYPEWEITING- MACHINES.

Application filed April 14, 1922. Serial No. 552,509.

To all whom it may concern:

l 3e it' known that I, Josnr WIMMER, a CItlZBII of the German Realm,'resid1ng at' No. 3 Tuppaustrasse, Schonau, near Chemnitz, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Tabulator Stops of Calculating Machines and Typeanother corresponding to thewidths of the.

The pitch of the teeth of this columns. tabulator rack is exactly the same as that of the type spacing mechanism of the machine that is, it is exactly equal to the distance betweenone type and the next-in a calculating machine, or to the width of the types in a typewriting machine.

It ishowe'vernot always possible to: place a-sheet in such a position that the lines separating thev columns will coincide exactly with the'pitch of-the teeth, of the tabulator rack. On the contrary intyping, the typed matter frequently enoroaches upon or over the column lines, with "the resultv that the typed sheet has a very bad "general appearance. Moreover it has been left to the skill of the typist to avoid that, drawback, thus entailing a considerableloss of time.

The present invention has now i for its object to obviate that drawback by-providing an improved tabulator stop. which will allow of effecting a special adjustment or fine adjustment of the tabulator stop, in addition to theordinary adjustment given by the teeth of the tabulator rack This result is achieved by constructing the improved tabulator stop in two parts which are capable of adjustment relatively to each other within the width of a letter or the space between the types. 'Of the said two parts, one part engages the teeth of the tabulator rack, and the other part, whichcarries the tabulator stop proper, is caused by the adjustingoperation to move towards this fixed? part. By this means the improved 'tabulator stop can be set exactly to the column line.

A constructional form of the invention designed more particularly for a calculating machine. is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which 1 1 is a rear elevation of the paper carriage.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the improved tabulator stop, drawn to a larger scale.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, and

Fig. 4 is a plan of the column-setter.

The'supporting frame. 2, furnished with ball-bearing race and scale 1, is fixed on the rear frame of. the calculating machine. The slide 5 of the paper carriage which is furnished with end plates 3, 4:,is adapted to slide in the supporting frame 2. The lower ends of these end plates have recesses in which the tabulator rack. 9 is mounted.

This rack has two longitudinal grooves 6,

7 for guidance extending along its entire length, and also transverse grooves 8 for adjustment; it is fixed in place by means of round knurled screwed nuts 9.

This tabulator rack may have any desired number of tabulator stops 10 mounted on it.

Each of these stops is provided with a cylindrical part 11 which, is slidable along the tabulator rack and is. formed with an annular groove 12 and two mutually facing recesses 13. In the bore of this part 11 there is provided a feather-key 15 which is fixed by means of rivets 14 and is slidable in the groove 7 in the tabulator rack.

At the side of the part 11 and on th tabulator rack, there is mounted an adjustingmember 16 having two externally screwthreaded jaws 17, 17 which engage in respective recesses 13 in the cylindrical part 11. These two jaws are connected operatively together by a nut 26 which ismounted on the. cylindrical .part ,11 and engages by means of its own internal screwthread with the external screwthreads of the jaws.

.Three screws 27 in the nut 26 engages by means of their plain ends 28 in the groove 12 of the cylindrical part 11, and thereby prevent lateral movement of the nut 26 relatively to the said part 11.

A feather-key. 24- adapted to slide under the tabulatorstop =10, is fixed by means of a rivet 23 in the bore of the adjusting member 16. This feather-key iscapable of being slidden along in'the groove 6 in, the tabulator rack 9. A screw 25 fixed to the featherkey 2 1 limits the relative motion between the'parts 11 and 16-which is equivalent to the pitch of one' tooth.

The adjusting member l6-has further a recess 13 in which is mounted a catch 21, 22 which is capable of rocking on the rivet 19, and partly encircles the tabulator rack. The limb 22 of this catch projects of the recess l8 to a suflicient extent to form a thumbpiece for the operator. A spring 20 situated in a bored hole, acts upon this limb 22 in such a manner that the limb 21 of the catch is normally always in engagement in one or other of the adjusting grooves 8 in the tabulator rack.

The paper carriage can be released by operating the releasing lever 30 which is pivoted on a screw 29 carried by the end plate 4. The lower arm 31 of this releasing lever engages by means of a pin 32 in a recess in the arm 33 of a bell-crank lever fixed on the tabulator rack 9. Aspring 35 which is fitted between one arm ofthe bell-crank lever 33 and alug-shaped extension of the releasing lever 30, acts to move the latter as well as the tabulator rack back into the normal position after release. I

At the centre of the supporting frame there is fixed a bent plate 39 for holding the paper carriage. This plate has a recess 36 and also two oppositely inclined ramps 37, 38 arranged at an angle to each other. A pawl 4:1 mounted, on this plate and capable of rocking on a screw 40 serves for stopping each tabulator stop as it comes up against it. The movement of this pawl 41 is limited by stud screws 42, 43 fixed to the plate 39.

The operation of the" subjectmatter of the invention is as follows When a printed sheet divided into columns is placed in the machine and is to be filled with numbers, the operator moves the paper carriage so as to bring the first division line (counting from the operators side of the machine) up to the first type bar on the right, and the operator then compares the number of numerals to be typed with the number of type bars that are required.

Then according to the resulting distance the operator moves the paper carriage into the position where this number can'be typed in the desired place. The operator then presses with his or her thumb upon the limb 22 of the catch of the nearest tabulator stop, whereby the limb 21 of the catch is tilted out of the adjustinggrooves. The stop which has been thus released, is pushed along until it falls into the notch 36 provided in the plate 39. When this has been done, the operator removes his'or her thumb, and the limb 21 then snaps into the corresponding adjusting groove in the tabulator rack. The'dividing' 'groovesprovided in the tabulator rack, correspond'exactlywith' the-spacing (that is,

the distance between one type and the next) -of the calculating machine.

If however, the setting efiected by means of the stop does not correspond with the column line, so that, for instance, the numeral to be typed, would come too far from one column-line, or even over the other column line, the operator turns the round nut 26 either to the right or to the left, whereby the adjustingpart 16 which is fixed on the tabulator rack 9 causes by means of its screwthreaded jaws 17,'the nut 26 to shift the stop proper 10, 11, and through the latter, the paper carriage, so that the column line is brought into exact coincidence with the type spacing.

For the purpose of setting the other tabulator stops, the releasing lever 30 is again thrown over so as to release the paper carriage, and the tabulator rack 9 isturned by means of the parts 31, 32 and 33 so that the stop 10 that was engaged in the notch 36, swings out of same. Thenoperator then shifts the paper carriage while letting go slightly the releasing lever, and the tabulator rack 9 together with the tabulator-stops on it, is turned back again into-the initial pawl comes to bear against oneof the stud screws 42 or ,43, whereby the stop 10'is compelledby the action of the spring 35 upon the tabulator rack to snap into the notch 36.

The other settings are effected in thehereinbefore described way.

What I claim is 1. In a tabulating device for calculating machines and typewriters, the combination with a tabulator rack of a tabulator stop comprising a member engaging with the tabulator rack, a stop member onthe tabulator rack capable of sliding thereon relatively to the said rack engaging member for adjusting purposes, the said stop member being intended to engage a "carriage'stop fixed to the frame of the machine,- and means for adjusting the said stop member 7 and retainingit inits adjusted position.

2, In a tabulatingfdevice forcalculating notch in a part fixed to: the frame of" the ma- 'oh1ne,- and' to be shifted'rel'atively to said rack engaging member, a releasable spring catch on saidQrack engagingmember, en-

gagin the Y i tabulator rack, externally screwt readed. jaws, provided on the said -machines and typewriti-ng-machines having rack engaging member, said jaws engaging said stop member, a nut meshing by means of its internal screwthread with said externally screwthreaded jaws, an annular groove in said stop member, and a pin on said nut, engaging in said annular groove, whereby when said nut is rotated said stop member is shifted relatively to said rack engaging melliiiber that is held fast by the tabulator rac 3. In a tabulating device for calculating machines and typewriting machines having a paper carriage, the combination with the tabulator rack, of a tabulator stop comprising a member engaging with the tabulator rack, a stop member adapted to engage in a notch in a part fixed to the frame of the machine, and to be shifted relatively to said rack engaging member, a releasable, spring catch on said rack engaging member, engaging the tabulator rack, externally screwthreade'd jaws, provided on the said rack engaging member, said jaws engaging said stop member, a nut meshing by means of its internal screwthread with said externally screwthreaded jaws, an annular groove in said stop member, and a pin on said nut,

engaging in said annular groove, a featherkey fixed to said rack engaging member, for guiding the latter on the tabulator rack, said feather-key passing through the stop mem-- her, and a screw carried by said feather-key externally of said stop member, for limiting the shifting movement of said stop member relatively to said rack engaging member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

J OSEF WIMMER.

Witnesses:

A. G. KLEVES. A. L. SUMPH. 

